Session #63: The Search for More Foes

The party was still taking stock of their situation when a new threat appeared! Several dusty, dry skeletons shambled out of the darkness at the back of the cave and began to attack them. Evil magic radiated off them, and they tried to combine their powers against the party. But whatever horrors they had once had in store for hapless travelers seemed to have badly decayed, as the party was able to defeat them quickly.

The party decided there wasn't much to do but head back to Newthrone, arriving there in the afternoon of 19 Rhaan. The king was much more pleased than they by the outcome of their battle - he didn't care what the dragon was, he only cared that it was gone. True to his word, he agreed to deescalate the conflict with the Talenta Plains. True to their word, the party agreed to make introductions to Shaena. They drafted a letter and left it with the king.

The next day (20 Rhaan), they went back and looked at their map. After examining it and consulting the palace library, they decided they would travel to Ravar Orioth, also known as the Jungle of Simitars, on the southern edge of Valenar. They knew that this land was inhabited by warring Eladrin clans that they might have to fight their way through, but were confident that this would pose no real trouble. In fact, Azeri and Taumir were optimistic that, as part of elven bloodlines, they might be able to build a repertoire with these clans and help broker some peace.

Tselem disguised himself as an Eladrin and cast Linked Portal, transporting the party to Jal Paeridor, a mid-sized town in central Valenar. From there they took another three day journey south to Pylas Maradal, on the shores of the Kraken Bay. After a hearty lunch, they made their way into the outer edges of the thick, forbidding jungle (it now being 23 Rhaan).

They had scarcely entered the jungle when they encountered an Eladrin sentry. He demanded they leave his clan's territory immediately. The party was unintimidated, and let him know that they were there to slay the dragon that lived deep in the jungle. This caught his attention, as the dragon, though semi-mythical, had long cast a long shadow of fear and death across their lands. He agreed to let them come meet the clan elders and began to lead them deeper into the jungle.

Rewards

• 22,500 XP each!
• You found a Cloak of Invisibility +6 (Player's Handbook p. 249)

Session #60: The Fame and the Fortitude

The exhausted but triumphant party harvested the dragon's remains.

After only a short respite, the party began evaluating their options. They wanted to face a black dragon next, and their map showed several in various parts of the world. After some discussion, they decided to head to Q'barra. Their map showed one in that nation's jungles, and the party wanted to check up on the state of things in that part of the world.

It took them a day's travel, but mid-morning on 6 Rhaan they arrived back at the shore near Illmarrow Castle. The castle and the shore were as gloomy and gray as ever. Thankfully, the boat was still there, and for a pittance they agreed to carry the party back to Port Verge. Another cold and wet journey ensued, landing them there on the 11th of Rhaan.

In Port Verge, Hapselmath took his leave of the party - he was out to find jaunty adventures, not epic battles for the fate of the world! The party bid him a polite farewell and went about the business of buying and selling magical items. They had much still to attend to.

After concluding their business in town, Tselem cast Linked Portal and transported them all to Newthrone, the capital of New Galifar in Q'barra. Upon their arrival, they immediately sought an audience with the king. It was not hard to get one, considering their fame had spread so far and wide. Even just walking down the streets to the palace, people stared and whispered. The party's role in the major world affairs of the last several months had become common knowledge, and their faces well-known, a fact they took great satisfaction in.

The King of New Galifar was not as easily impressed as most people, but the party was still given a relatively quick audience. The party offered the king a bargain - stand down the escalating conflict between his realm and the Talenta Plains, and they will slay the dragon in the jungles in his name The king was very amenable to these terms, but did not feel he was in a position to resist Reidra. The party offered to broker an understanding between the people of the Talenta Plains and New Galifar, revealing their insider influence with the Talenta nomads. The king was surprised, pleased, and agreeable!

Satisfied with the bargain made, the party retired for the evening as guests of the king. Azeri and Tselem took some time to visit the castle's library (which was actually quite small all things considered - New Galifar is after all a nation of refugees).

The next morning, 12 Rhaan, the party departed the comforts of the palace. They traveled for three days in the jungle, following tracks and trails. At night, Tselem would cast Mordenkainen’s Magnificent Mansion, keeping them safe in a luxurious pocket dimension as they slept. Around noon on 15 Rhaan, they emerged from the dense forests onto the edge of cliff. Below them they could see the extinct volcano Haka'torvhak and built into the side of it, the great, ruined Citadel of Haka'torvhak. It was an awe-inspiring sight, the party lingered there for several minutes.

The party then pushed deeper into the jungle. As they marched further south, looking for further signs of the dragon, they were suddenly attacked by two huge thunderhawks! The fearsome beasts strafed them the skies, but the party stood their ground. As they did so, they wondered: why were these creatures attacking them? Azeri remembered reading thunderhawks were territorial - if the party were to run, would they creatures leave them be?

The party decided to go for it, and after a relatively short sprint, the creatures fell back and left the party alone. Azeri and Tselem were relieved that they would not have to destroy such magnificent animals.

By now, night was falling, so Tselem cast the Mansion once again, and the party retired for the day.

Rewards

• 8,500 XP each

Sessions #54 & #55: The Arrogance and the Wisdom of the Ancients (Parts I & II)

Session #54

The party stepped over the bodies of the fallen guards and went around the bend. There they saw the mouth of a huge cave, undoubtedly the dragon's! They marched in confidently. The cave entrance was a narrow-ish passageway flanked by a thirty-foot cliff on the right side. When they rounded the side of this cliff and entered the main cavern, they were awed by the size of it. But their attention was much more focused on the huge red dragon lying on an enormous pile of gold and treasure at the far end of the cave.

The dragon rose from his repose with a surprised look, and then let out an evil laugh. "I give you full marks for bravery," he cackled. "Now come and meet your death!"

The party launched into the fray, while the dragon let out blasts of fire. At first the great wyrm still seemed bemused by them. However, Azeri then summoned an ethereal chariot and steed that gave the party the ability to fly up to meet the dragon in the air and gave them extra protection. The dragon recognized this as powerful magic, and became less casual. And then Azeri was able to actually inflict some damage with a fire attack! At this the dragon looked downright stunned and gave the party his full attention.

Around and around they went, the magic of the party's weapons and staffs pushing back the dragon's lethal claws, teeth, and breath. Azeri guided her chariot through the air with Maak Tol riding in the back delivering blows against their foe even in mid-air. The dragon grew more harried and concerned as the battle progressed, and lighted on the top of the cliff.

Session #55

Now beginning to show the strain, the dragon let forth might roars that caused Maak Tol and Tselem to both retreat several paces in momentary fear. But their courage quickly returned to them, and once again they rained blows and spells down upon him. Fear began to show in the ancient creature's eyes, and his attacks became both more desperate and clumsy. He tried to back away from the party, to find some cover, but then he flew up into the air once more and this time, Taumir arrows found their final mark. With a scream and crash, the beast crashed to the cavern floor, dead!

The party was exhausted from the fight, and took some time to savor their victory. Then they got to the messy work of stripping the corpse and collecting the bones for their mission (particularly the femur, arm, and skull bones). They also set to work looting from the hoard. The enormous pile of treasure gave them cause to mourn that their bag of holding wasn't infinite!

As they were thus engaged, Azeri suddenly heard and felt Shaena speaking in her head! She recognized this was the Sending ritual. Per the brevity of the ritual, Shaena said only a short phrase: "Friends, I owe you an apology. Please come again soon - you won't believe what we have found." Azeri was not able to respond, but she felt the genuineness of Shaena's message. So the party decided to return to Clan Ulantra on the Talenta Plains.

Azeri summoned her magical steeds and the party arrived back with their former hosts on the evening of 26 Barrakas. Shaena was waiting for them, and greeted them with warmth and an apology. She asked their forgiveness for having blamed them for the death of her people. She thought that the mummies had attacked the camp that night because of the party, but she has since learned otherwise. The party frankly accepted, and asked how she had learned this. Shaena told them to come and see.

Shaena had acquired a large bruise on her face. When asked about it, she said simply that in the aftermath of the deaths, she had been challenged for leadership of the clan. Cracking her knuckles, she concluded, "It won't happen again."

Shaena led the party to a spot about a hundred yards outside of the camp. To the party's surprise, a huge pit had been dug, and inside it, was a huge pyramid! Shaena explained that some of her warriors had followed the mummies who'd escaped, and they'd disappeared into the sand here, so her people had dug down, and found all this! They'd ventured inside once, but been driven out by mummies. Shaena asked for the party's help in venturing in once more. The party agreed, but in the morning. Tselem was especially still a bit dazed from the fight with the dragon, and night was quickly drawing on. Shaena agreed.

That night the party and the clan partied the night away. This night saw the light of several of the moons, as well as many burning torches and constant guards, so everyone slept soundly.

The next morning, Shaena and her guards fetched the party and they all went down into the pit and began to search the pyramid. It was several hours before they found anything of interest though. Around noon they entered a large chamber, and saw an orb glowing with evil energy. It sent a blast at them that knocked them all flat and threw Shaena and her guards out of the room entirely. Still on his back, Taumir let an arrow fly, and very nearly destroyed the evil thing; then Tselem finished it off with a disintegration spell. Now motivated, everyone searched the room, and found mention of a library hidden deep within the pyramid.

Azeri heard this and was off like a shot! A few minutes later they entered said library and found it to be huge and full of dusty tomes. Tselem quickly realized that much of the magic in here would be offensive to all Lawful Good and Good gods, though not all of it was strictly evil. Taumir searched for books about the thirteenth moon for some reason. Azeri, her little fox in tow, found some books about dragons. And in one of them she found a map of all the known dragons in Khorvaire! It was a hundred years old, but for dragons that is nothing, so this was a very promising lead!

Shaena and the guards had not descended to the library's level, choosing to go back out and get some lunch. After an hour in the library, the party followed as well.

Rewards

• 23,350 XP each! (Maak Tol will now level up to level 22.)
• A Dragondaunt Shield - Level 26 magic item (Player's Handbook p. 245)
• 3,100 PP (equivalent to 310,000 GP), plus 5,000 GP worth of gems & jewels

Session #53: The Victors and the Spoils

The party stood outside the burning tent, waiting to see if their foes might just burn up and be done with it. Alas, all three made their way out of the inferno, badly scorched but still fighting. The flaming tent collapsed and the party resumed the battle. Each mummy was returned to the dust, but each managed to strike at the party with their drying breath.

The battle was over, but the party realized they could hear still screams and confusion throughout the camp. They left the embers of their tent behind to see the shapes of three other mummies fleeing into the night. Several other tents had been torn apart, and seven halflings lay dead. Shaena confronted them, furious, and demanded they leave. Tselem tried to offer some money by way of compensation, but Shaena rejected it. The party left, dejected.

The party then traveled a short distance away and camped for the rest of the night. When they awoke on the morning of 22 Barrakas, they were feeling the effects of the battle. The mummies had poisoned them! Fortunately, Azeri was able to cast Cure Disease on everyone (she herself was less affected). Now back to full health, they resumed their journey to the northern end of the Endworld Mountains, reaching the foothills that evening. They spent the next day searching for signs of dragons, and found some promising leads.

They camped that night in a bowl-shaped depression high on one of the mountains. When they awoke on the morning of 24 Barrakas, they heard something moving on the ridge above them. It was a pack of Grimlocks! The party was on guard, but remembered that these creatures were blind and didn't seem to sense them at this distance.

There was a slope leading up to the ridge, so Taumir went up and spied on the creatures. They were marching back and forth they were guarding something, and Taumir could see something around the bend that looked like they were still on the trail of the dragon. He snuck back down to the party and they decided to take out these guards. They dropped four with long-range strikes before the other two even realized what was happening. The remaining two ran down the slope to attack, but were also dropped easily.

Rewards

• 15,928 XP each! This means everyone but Maak Tol will level up to level 22!
• 2,370 PP total! (That's platinum pieces - a platinum piece is worth 100 GP)

Session #52: The Wanderers in the Wilderness

In the aftermath of the battle, the party returned to Lathleer. They had decided to head to the Talenta Plains, partly to check up on the haflings, but also to make their way to the Endworld Mountains to find a red dragon to slay. They were thinking of using a House Orien teleportation station to take them Gatherhold, one of the few cities in the Talenta Plains, but the attendant at the station was snotty and the price was somewhat high (there wasn't much demand for travel to Gatherhold.) The party decided to go directly across the street and have Tselem cast Linked Portal to take them to Gatherhold instead. Tselem then sent a fig through the portal as a way of snubbing their noses as the attendant.

The party spent a quiet evening in Gatherhold (which is something of a ghost town during the late summer), and then next morning set on foot across the Plains towards the Blade Desert. They entered the desert on the 18th of Barrakas. They were hoping to make contact with Clan Ulantra, whose chief was Ostran, and whose daughter was Shaena, whom they had first encountered in the Desert months before. They did not happen upon Clan Ulantra that day, but they did meet another halfling clan, who told them they thought Clan Ulantra was traveling to the southeast. This other clan did say they thought there were some dragons to the northeast. In order to hide their purpose, the party headed southeast.

The next day they encountered another halfling clan, but again it was not Clan Ulantra. These halflings though said they had seen Clan Ulantra just a few days ago, heading north, so the party turned and headed that direction instead. The same scene repeated itself the next day as well with yet another halfling clan.

On 21 Barrakas, the party found Clan Ulantra! Ostran had fallen ill, and Shaena was more or less ruling in his stead. She welcomed the party, and they had a nice reunion with her and her father. She told the party that New Galifar had started building forts along the edge of the desert and was generally being a nuisance, but as of yet no real hostilities had broken out.

The party decided to stay the night with Clan Ulantra while planning their next move. That night, it was very dark - all twelve moons were hidden, and the stars, while beautiful, cast little illumination. The party was sound asleep, and then was rudely awakened as something began attacking them in the dark! Tselem created a torch, and the party was stunned to see huge mummies had invaded their tent! As befitting epic heroes of their caliber, they did not shrink from the fight, battling the mummies in these close quarters. The spells thrown around caught the tent on fire. The party members untangled themselves from the inferno, with the mummies still inside...

Rewards
(nothing yet, encounter is still ongoing)

Session #24: The People of the Plains

The party wailed on the Lizardfolk - their numbers were intimidating, but the fight went in the party's favor. At one point, one of them attempted to attack Tselem, at which point Edge shielded his ally by stabbing the lizardfolk through the chest and slinging its corpse across the field! Needless to say, within just a few short minutes, the party stood victorious!

As the dust settled, they realized their victory was a little Pyrrhic - the lizardfolk had slaughtered all the crew of the ship. The party found themselves alone and unattended on the docks that evening. They decided to heck with their mission, and beat it out of town, spending the night in one of the the pleasant forests that surround Newthrone.

The next day (19 Dravago), the party decided that not only did they not want to have anything to do with Newthrone and/or Riedra annexing the Talenta Plains, they also weren't going to sit idly by while it happened. They decided to try and contact the leadership of the halfling clans that roamed the Plains, so they made their way through the forests and trails of Q'barra, and then though the passes of the Endworld Mountains, and arrived on the other side, at the edge of the Blade Desert, three days later, on the evening of 22 Dravago. The next day was spent wandering the Desert, trying to get in contact with one of the halfling clans. It would be another day however (mid morning on 24 Dravago) before they finally caught up to one,

The halfing caravan, which appeared to be a family of traders, was curious and cautious but friendly to the party. One of the first people they met was a girl named Shaena, who directed them to her father. From these two the party learned that a great gathering of the clans was taking place in just a day or two, and the leader of the clans would be meeting with his fellow chieftains. The party decided this was the perfect opportunity to give their warning, and asked if they could come along to the gathering, to which Shaena's clan agreed.

The travelers arrived at the gathering place late that evening. Some of the party decided to get a feel of the camp, and wandered around, listening for gossip and news. As they were doing so, they ran into a dwarf named Travok. He was amiable, and told the party how he was there to try and make a business deal with the clans. In the course of conversation, Taumir asked if he knew anything about the 13th moon. Travok tried to hide his interest and even outright astonishment, but the party could tell they'd hit a nerve. Travok said his employer, one Vondal, would be extremely interested in meeting the party, and would they like to accompany him once the gathering was over? The party agreed, then went to bed.

The gathering the next day was a sight to behold. It was a bustling bazaar, a grand festival, a political rally, and a family reunion all rolled into one. The party was able to gain an audience with the 'president' of the clans, and gave their warning that Q'barra might attempt to invade. He thanked them for their warning and promised to take it seriously.

The next morning (26 Dravago), as the clans were beginning to pack up and depart, Travok approached them and asked if they still wanted to travel with him to meet Vondal. They said they did, and they all departed for the Ironroot Mountains. The journey took a few days, and they did not arrive at the Goradra Gap until 1 Nymm. A trading post sat there, nestled under the intimidating peaks that guarded the way to the Mror Holds, the dwarven lands. There they were met by Vondal.

Vondal was in fact extremely excited to see them. It turned out that he had at one point been very involved with the work of the Whisper Wood elves. He knew as the party did that they had developed a way to give dragonmarks to any person. Vondal saw this is a big opportunity, a way to shift the balance of power in this world in a serious way, to end the monopoly the Draongmarked had over the rest of the people of the world. He persuaded the party to join him in his goal of making the Whisper Wood elves' technique available to everyone. The party was naturally a little cautious, but they felt Vondal was being honest with them, and Taumir especially was excited to be reconnecting with his past after all this time.

There were still some things that had to be done before they could truly begin though, as Vondal began to explain...

Rewards

• 3,500 XP each.
• 4,400 GP total.
• You found an Amulet of Protection +4 (p. 249 PHB).